We’ve reached state championship week for spring high school sports, the final week of the 2016-17 school year.
It’s a rare privilege for any prep athlete to get to compete in a state championship. It’s an even rarer honor to get the opportunity to participate at state in three sports in the same year.
That’s what Karter Graves of King’s Way Christian has accomplished this year.
Graves qualified for the 1A state tournament in golf last fall. In the winter, he was the point guard on the King’s Way boys basketball team that reached the Yakima SunDome. And in the spring, Graves is an outfielder/pitcher for the Knights’ baseball team that not only reached the state tournament but advanced to the 1A state semifinals on Friday at Yakima County Stadium.
It should be a week of celebration for Graves. But you’ll forgive Karter if he’s not celebrating this week. He’ll be too busy.
You see in one of those funny quirks of Washington high school sports, in many leagues, boys play golf in the fall, but the state tournament isn’t until May.
That means Graves has a tee time at 8:50 a.m. Tuesday at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco at the 1A boys state golf tournament.
If all goes well, he’ll back on the course for the final round Wednesday. Then he’ll join his King’s Way Christian baseball team in Yakima on Thursday as the Knights get ready to play Cashmere at 10 a.m. Friday in the 1A state semifinals at Yakima County Stadium.
However, last year things didn’t go so well when Graves went to the state golf tournament. He shot 100 and missed the final-round cut by 12 shots. Graves admitted that he had been so focused on baseball last spring – the Knights fell in the regional round at state last year – that he hadn’t picked up his golf clubs much in preparation for state.
So if Graves doesn’t make it past Tuesday’s first round, it’s understandable. But at least he won’t be alone in his busy week. King’s Way Christian baseball teammate Cole Sheretz also has a tee time at state Tuesday.
Sheretz is making his second consecutive trip to state in golf. For Graves, it’s three in a row.
So regardless of what happens on the golf course Tuesday, it’s a tremendous accomplishment to just be playing for Graves, and Sheretz as well.
And it figures to be an exciting week for the Knights.
Here’s where other area golfers will be teeing off on Tuesday:
- Union’s Keith Lobis and Ben Gruher will be at Liberty Lake Golf Course near Spokane for the 4A boys state tournament.
- Emma Cox, Hailey Oster and the rest of the Camas girls team will be taking a shot at the state team title at the 4A state tournament at MeadowWood Golf Course in Spokane.
- Fort Vancouver’s Spencer Tibbits will try to cap his prep career with his second consecutive 3A state title and third in four years. Tibbits will be at Columbia Point Gol f Course in Richland.
- District champion Delainey Patterson of Prairie will be at the 3A girls tournament at Canyon Lakes Golf Course in Kennewick.
- The Columbia River boys will have six golfers (Jacob Larson, Joe Beuselinck, Kyle Gomez, Spencer Long, Mason White and Jacob Barnes) at the Creek at Qualchan Golf Course in Spokane at the 2A boys tournament.
- District champion Kallie Sakamoto of Washougal will be at the 2A girls tournament at Indian Canyon Golf Course in Spokane.
- And Taylor Entenman of La Center is the lone local in the 1A/2B/1B girls state tournament at Horn Rapids Golf Course in Richland.
Tim Martinez is the assistant sports editor/prep coordinator for The Columbian. He can be reached at (360) 735-4538, tim.martinez@columbian.com or follow him on Twitter on @360TMart.
